


Careful Wording

by hazelNuts



Series: Prompt Fics [84]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Allison, Alive Erica, Alive Vernon Boyd, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Fluff, Future Fic, M/M, Minor Allison Argent/Scott McCall/Kira Yukimura, Minor Vernon Boyd/Erica Reyes, Misunderstandings, POV Stiles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-18
Updated: 2016-01-18
Packaged: 2018-05-14 20:42:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5758114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hazelNuts/pseuds/hazelNuts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>anonymous asked: "When Stiles get's a message from his boyfriend Derek saying they need to talk he phones his friends in a panic trying to see if this is as bad as he feared. It's not Derek just wants to ask Stiles to move in with him and finally admit to Stiles that he is actually his mate. Derek just not very good with his words but he saves the best three for Stiles ears only (smut if you want but always top Derek and of course bottom Stiles) thank you and happy new year"</p><p>
  <i>Stiles’ heart stops beating when he sees the text. His breath hitches. The world spins and he barely makes it to the bed before he crumbles. He’s going to throw up.</i>
  <br/>
  <i>
    <b>we need to talk</b>
  </i>
  <br/>
  <i>He squeezes his eyes shut, but it’s like the words are burned into his corneas. He can’t get rid of them. Tears sting his eyes as he tries to find a reason, any reason, why Derek would want to break up with him. He finds plenty.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Careful Wording

**Author's Note:**

> If you think I forgot any tags, please let me know in the comments.

Stiles’ heart stops beating when he sees the text. His breath hitches. The world spins and he barely makes it to the bed before he crumbles. He’s going to throw up.

**we need to talk**

He squeezes his eyes shut, but it’s like the words are burned into his corneas. He can’t get rid of them. Tears sting his eyes as he tries to find a reason, _any_ reason, why Derek would want to break up with him. He finds plenty. He’s loud, a messy eater, gets clingy when he’s tired. He says things he doesn’t mean, and always regrets later, when he’s upset. He steals Derek’s clothes. He tends to be more at Derek’s apartment than the two-bedroom he shares with Boyd. He has insomnia and it keeps Derek up too, sometimes.

Stiles rubs his cheeks as tears trail down them. Taking a deep breath, he opens his eyes again. His phone has already gone on stand-by, the screen dark and the message now hidden behind a lockscreen Stiles doesn’t want to unlock. He almost jumps out of his skin when the phone in his hand buzzes again.

**i’ll come by at 7 with food**

Stiles frowns. It’s weird to bring food to a break-up, right? Maybe Derek wants to make him feel comfortable and happy so it’ll soften the blow a bit. Going by the size of the lump in Stiles’ throat, it won’t work. He doubts any food or drink can get past that, he’s surprised he can still _breath_ e. He needs to… He needs to talk to someone. Scott. Scott will know what’s going on.

‘ _What’s up?_ ’ Scott asks, then immediately after, _‘Hold on_.’

Stiles waits patiently for Scott to tell his daughter that crayons are not for eating before he asks, ‘So, Scottie, do you have any idea if Derek has some kind of plan for tonight?’

‘ _What? No. I don’t know. Why would I know that?_ ’ Scott stammers.

Scott knows. Stiles recognizes his “I’ve been sworn to secrecy, please stop asking questions” stammering. He considers tricking Scott into telling him what’s going on, but he doesn’t have the patience right now.

‘Just, you know, wondering. I gotta go.’ Stiles hangs up, cutting off Scott’s response.

Tapping his phone against his chin, Stiles tries to figure out who to call next. Allison and Kira would probably say some variation of what Scott said, or they really wouldn’t know. In fact, the only other people he’s fairly certain of Derek would confide in are Malia, Lydia and Boyd. Boyd is never going to talk, so Stiles tries Lydia first.

‘ _Why would I know anything about what Derek is planning?_ ’ Lydia asks, sounding exasperated.

‘Aha! Answering a question with a question is a form of evasion. You _do_ know.’

Lydia hangs up on him, mumbling something about being deaf in one ear from now on. Stiles doesn’t call her back. He’s not sure Lydia knows, but it would take even longer to get Lydia to tell him what’s going on than it would take to persuade Scott.

Malia’s answer to his questions is the worst of all.

‘ _I can’t talk about it_ ,’ she says.

‘But you do know what’s going on?’ Stiles asks.

 _‘But I can’t talk about it, so stop asking or I’ll hang up_.’

Stiles rubs a hand over his face. He’s still nauseated and the lump in his throat feels like it’s bigger than when he first read the text. He needs a distraction, so he changes the subject. Malia has been doing a lot of volunteering at the library and the community centre. Kids seem to lover her, and Malia loves them back just as fiercely. Malia had been having trouble figuring out what to do with her life. She’d gotten so bored with every single one of her jobs, she’d started considering going back to living in the preserve. But after babysitting for Kira, Scott and Allison a couple times, she’d decided become a kindergarten teacher.

So Stiles lets her distract him with tales of glitter fights and the latest happenings in childrens literature, and when he hangs up the phone he no longer feels sick or like he’s about to cry. The visual of Malia being attacked by toddlers armed with paint really helped.

There is still over an hour left before Derek comes over, so Stiles starts tidying up. First his bedroom, then the living room and the kitchen. He’s grateful Boyd is at Erica’s today or he would’ve gotten at least a look, and possibly a lecture, about emotional cleaning again. It had started sophomore year of college, when he’d gotten extremely homesick. It never really went away.

At seven sharp, the doorbell rings.

‘Hey,’ Stiles says, opening the door. He does his best to keep the anxiety at bay, but when Derek’s smile drops off his face Stiles knows he’s failed.

‘Stiles, are you okay?’ Derek asks. He puts the bag with Thai food down and steps inside. He carefully cradles Stiles’ face in his hands and tilts it up just enough for him to be able to look Stiles in the eye.

The tenderness of the touch makes Stiles’ stomach swoop. Surely Derek can’t be here to- If he was, he wouldn’t-

Stiles takes a deep breath, searching for words that aren’t a lie. ‘It’s been a long day.’

‘Okay. Then let’s put on a movie and we’ll eat on the couch, alright? We can talk after.’ Derek presses a kiss against Stiles’ forehead before releasing him. He grabs the food, looking back at Stiles with raised eyebrows when he sees how tidy the place is –though thankfully doesn’t ask any questions- and walks to the couch.

For the next two hours, Stiles’ emotions are like a rollercoaster ride, from happy, to anxious, to sad, to content, and then the ride starts over. By the time the movie is over, Stiles is exhausted and he senses Derek’s worry for him.

‘So, what did you want to talk about?’ Stiles says, turning to Derek, faking a smile.

‘Stiles, if there’s something going on, this can wait,’ Derek assures him.

Stiles doesn’t think it’s a lie exactly, but he can tell that Derek doesn’t really want to wait. And since tonight’s talk is the source of his anxiety, he doesn’t want to wait either. So he shakes his head and motions for Derek to start talking.

Derek takes a deep breath in and slowly breaths it out. He grabs Stiles’ hand, enveloping it in his own. ‘I’ve known you for almost eight years. For eighteen months out of those eight years we’ve been together. It might not seem very long, but it’s enough for me to know-’

Stiles’ heart speeds up as Derek’s cheeks flush red. This doesn’t sound like Derek is going to break up with him. It sounds like-

‘And if you wanted to… I wanted to ask you if you want to be my mate and move in with me?’ There’s a tentative smile curling Derek’s lips, and his eyes are wide and hopeful when he looks up again. Stiles wants kiss him until they’re both breathless. He also kind of wants to scream.

‘Oh my god, you fucking- Jesus fucking christ.’ Stiles rubs a hand over his face, blowing out a breath. He slumps against Derek’s side. ‘I can’t believe you.’

‘You don’t want to?’ Derek’s voice sounds small.

‘Of course I want to! But this-’ Stiles digs his phone out of his pocket and shoves it in Derek’s face, the words Derek had send him that afternoon lighting up the screen ‘-is what you send me? _We need to talk?_ ’

Derek winces. ‘Oh.’

Stiles hums, drops his phone on the couch and lets the anxiety of the afternoon float away.

‘Stiles?’

‘Yeah?’

‘Did you just say yes?’

Stiles nods. ‘Yep’

‘That’s… good.’

Stiles snorts. He twists, throwing a leg over Derek’s so he can straddle him. He cradles Derek’s face in his hand, just as carefully and tender as Derek had with him earlier that evening.

‘I should hope so,’ Stiles whispers against Derek’s lips, ‘Since you’re the one who asked.’

‘I love you,’ Derek whispers back.

Stiles’ heart skips a beat. And by the way Derek’s hands clench at his hips, he knows Derek’s heard it.

‘I love you, too.’

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on [tumblr](http://fandom-madnessess.tumblr.com/).


End file.
